//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Unexpected Guests // Story: The Wonderbolts Meet Star Scorcher // by Linkonpark100 //------------------------------// The next day... Oh, no. I've done it this time, thought Star Scorcher. He remembered last night. Why couldn't I just put it outside the hangover gate?! GAH! He was still panicking in his bed. It was 9:30 AM and he was gonna take his shift today. He didn't feel like getting up because he was practically lazy in bed. Why did I have to sleep early last night?! Stretching his back and hooves, he went to take a shower. As he turned the tap on, he could feel the fresh cold water right on his fur. He was lost in thought because of that Wonderbolts show last night. What if his dreams of becoming a Wonderbolt were ruined because of him? Then again, it was that colt's fault for falling over like that. No. He didn't know that he was actually going to fall. The rescue was my own doing. He finally snapped back to reality when he overheated the water. "GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scorcher was at the counter of the coffee shop, looking bored as ever. The thought of last night's Wonderbolts show was still in his head. He felt pretty depressed at what he did. He stole his heroes' thunder. And he doesn't know what to do. "So how was the show last night?" his co-worker asked. "It was pretty awesome, I guess." Scorcher lied. Even though it was true, he still felt guilt. "There were many tricks that were mind blowing." Right after that, he sighed, leaving his co-worker confused. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "That was a pretty awesome show last night." Blaze said. Blaze, Breezie and High Winds were flying towards the coffee shop nearby. "Yeah, I can't believe something climatic like that would happen." High Winds said. After all, she had felt excited at what happened at the show. Suddenly, she sighed. "Too bad we couldn't meet the stallion who saved the colt. He's looked pretty awesome." "When we find him, we're gonna have a little chat with him." Breezie had said. Suddenly, she had second thoughts about it. "Make it a big one." She and the others were planning to visit the savior in pony. They looked to see that they arrived at the coffee shop. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Suddenly, Star Scorcher looked outside. An ice to his heart had been encased. He saw 3 members of The Wonderbolts coming inside the coffee shop. Even without their suits, they're pretty recognizable. The one in blue was High Winds. The orange and yellow mare was Blaze, Spitfire's sister. And the white and yellow mare was the secondary squad leader of The Wonderbolts, Breezie. Gasping for some air, Scorcher needed to hide. "Dude, take my shift!" Scorcher yelled to his co-worker. "Why?" the co-worker asked. "Just do it!" Scorcher replied, while panicking. He needed to hide, so he flew to the back door. When the three mares trotted inside, they didn't seem to notice at first. However what caught Breezie's eye was a yellow tail attached to what looked like a red rump exiting the back door. It could've been that stallion from last night's show. "Hey, I think I saw the stallion from last night." Breezie said. "Where?" Blaze and High Winds asked, heads lighting up with curiosity. "He just flew to the back door." Breezie answered. "You mean Star Scorcher?" the co-worker asked. "Yeah, do you know him?" Blaze asked. "He's Cloudsdale's biggest party animal. He parties on Friday nights and weekends." he answered. "Wait, Star Scorcher? THE Star Scorcher?" High Winds asked, wide-eyed. "Wait, you know him?" Breezie asked. "No, but I heard that he's one of the most graceful flyers of Cloudsdale. He's known to use twists and turns rather than straight flying. He's the pegasus that created the move "Nova Meteor'." she explained. Blaze was in awe, but Breezie wasn't surprised. She knew that a stallion with that caliber him could pull some awesome maneuver like that. "Let's get the others." Breezie said. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Oh man! Of all the places I had to run into The Wonderbolts, it had to be at my job!" Star Scorcher exclaimed. He was back in his house and already taking a beer. "The guilt must be killing me with these coincidences! Maybe I should do what my father told me, apply for the royal guard!" he shouted. Suddenly, he heard his front door knock. He was lucky that he wasn't drunk yet. He placed his bottle on the coffee table and went to see who it was. "Can I he--" but before he could finish his sentence, he was stopped by his own shocked expression. There were 12 ponies standing right in front of him. Their manes and fur were recognizable. They were The Wonderbolts! "Hey--" but before Spitfire could finish her sentence, Scorcher had slammed the door in front of them. He couldn't face them after last night. What if they were still mad at him? He couldn't just... Suddenly, he had realized at what he done. Quickly, he opened up the door to see if they left. To his relief, The Wonderbolts were still standing in front of him. "Hi, welcome to my house." Scorcher nervously said with a nervous chuckle. "Would you like to come in?" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Wonderbolts had settled inside Scorcher's house. Most of them were sitting around while Silver Lining was looking around. Scorcher came from the kitchen and placed some drinks on the coffee table. He was shaking in nervousness. Soarin' had noticed this and gave a small chuckle. "He looks nervous." he whispered into Spitfire's ear, to when she chuckled as she also noticed. "Nice place you have here." Soarin' complimented. "Thanks." was all Scorcher muttered out. An awkward silence. Scorcher was still smiling nervously, feeling uneasy. Luckily, Spitfire broke the silence. "So--" but before she could say anything else, Scorcher finally broke down. "I'm really sorry at what happened at the show last night!" Scorcher said loudly. "What?" Misty asked, confused as the rest of her teammates. "I knew I shouldn't have overshadowed your performance with that stunt I pulled! I saved that colt's life because I couldn't see him fall to the ground! I panicked and didn't realize that you guys were also fast!" he finally let out. There was a silence in the room. Suddenly, The Wonderbolts had burst out laughing. Silver Lining gave a small chuckle. "That's why you've been avoiding us?" Fleetfoot said, still trying to contain her laughter. "No big deal, Scorcher." Spitfire said. "We really didn't expect see the falling colt." "Besides, somepony saved us before." Soarin' added. He remembered the Young Fliers' Competition where he, Spitfire and Misty had been involved in an incident where a certain unicorn was about to fall to her own doom. Luckily, a mare by the name Rainbow Dash had saved them while pulling off a Sonic Rainboom. Suddenly, something popped into his mind. "Hey, didn't you participate in the Young Fliers' Competition?" Soarin' asked. "Nope." was all Scorcher said. "How come? Ponies would've loved your moves." Blaze said. "Wait, you know me?" Scorcher asked. Mentally, he was pretty excited that The Wonderbolts knew him. "Well, High Winds told us all about you." Wave Chill answered. Scorcher looked at High Winds. "I've heard about a red pony with a yellow mane and tail that can pull the 'Nova Meteor'. Many of the locals talk about you." she said. Holy crap, holy crap. I'm not dreaming! They really know me!, Scorcher thought to himself wildly. Luckily on the outside, he kept his composure. "Well, it was just an improvised move. Basically, you start from up in the high air, then you fly downwards while doing some twists and turns, which you ponies are familiar with my style. I have to warn you though, if you land on the ground with that move, then the radius of the impact would get messy." he explained. Some of The Wonderbolts were pretty impressed, much to the chagrin of Fire Streak. "Maybe we should race it out sometime." Fire said. "Anyways," Wave Chill interrupted. "How come you've never participated in the Young Fliers' Competition?" "Well, it's like this. I don't fly for competition. I just only enjoy the skies, and I don't want to compete with some pegasus who runs their mouth at me when in reality, they are terrible." "Do you race with them?" Fleetfoot asked. "Yeah. Just to shut them up." Scorcher said in a deadpanned expression. It wasn't towards The Wonderbolts. It was towards one of his memories involving him beating three idiot stallions in a race. They were making fun of his flying ability because Scorcher was a party addict. To shut them up, he had beaten all three of them in one race. Even though he had won, he was still annoyed by the fact that they had interrupted his chat with a pretty mare. "Well, to this extent, I hate braggarts. That's why I rarely compete in competitions." Scorcher had concluded. The Wonderbolts had looked at Wave Chill and Fire Streak. Scorcher was confused. "What?" Wave and Fire said. Then, they all looked back at Scorcher. "However, I compete in some competitions because some of my colleagues recommended me to." Scorcher added. "Have you won any?" Breezie asked. "Well, yes. There was the Pegasus Cup, the Annual Cloudsdale Racing Championship, the All-Star Pegasus Grand Prix..." The Wonderbolts were amazed by the list of achievements Scorcher had gained. "...and the Equestrian Race Championship." he finished. "They were all only one time achievements for me." "How come we never heard of you before?!" Breezie yelled. "Well I try to keep a low profile of a racing career by spending most of my time partying in clubs and high profile events. I became Cloudsdale's party animal then." he said. The Wonderbolts had put this in thought. A pony who had the potential to make a successful racing career dislikes participating in competitions. Why? Suddenly, Misty brought up a question. "What made you enjoy partying?" she asked. Scorcher smiled. "I love to meet new ponies and drink some booze. Especially if it involves ending up in another city." "So..." Blaze began. "It's an adventure for me." Scorcher said. "Whatever part of Equestria I end up in, I meet some new ponies during my trip back home." He lied. He didn't enjoy it for one bit. The San Palomino Desert was just to make him think about his priorities. "Well, we should probably go now." Spitfire said. "It was pretty nice speaking to you." Fleetfoot said. "Hey, I was wondering..." Scorcher began before they left. "...can I join The Wonderbolts?" They were surprised by this question. This was actually the first time anypony has asked them. Scorcher was dead nervous when he asked that. However, with the list of achievements he had, he would make an excellent member. However, now wasn't the time yet. "We'll think about it." Spitfire answered sincerely. And she meant it. They had left the house and Scorcher was relieved. "Stupid, stupid, stupid! That was a dumb question!" he scolded himself loudly. "Now I have to go practice to prove myself!" he said as he flew out to the back door. However, he was unaware that The Wonderbolts heard through the window at what he said as they were chuckling at Scorcher scolding himself. "Do you really mean that, Spits?" Soarin' asked. "Yeah. He may not have to attend the Wonderbolts Academy. He's at a superstar level." she replied. "I'm gonna check out his practice session." High Winds said, before quickly following Scorcher. "Wait!" Blaze yelled, but she had already gone. "Well, let's see what he has." Rapidfire said. The others nodded and followed High Winds' lead. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Just as The Wonderbolts reached Star Scorcher's backyard, they were amazed. It was no backyard, but a cloud training field. They didn't expect something from him. Suddenly, they saw Star Scorcher and hid inside one of the clouds. Star Scorcher was stretching his hooves and body. He played his stereo on the cloud bench. (Start Song) "And everything is going to the beat And everything is going to the beat And everything is going" Scorcher started to headbang slowly to the beat. After the intro of the song, he flew slowly and closed his eyes. Luckily, he remembered whatever obstacle there was in this training field. He flew upwards and turned around several clouds. Then, he does several loop-de-loops around in the sky. Around, he's just spinning through hoops and over cloud pillars. "And you said It was like fire around the brim Burning solid Burning thin the burning rim Like stars burning holes right through the dark Flicking fire like saltwater into my eyes You were one inch from the edge of this bed I drag you back a sleepyhead, sleepyhead" Just when the chorus hits, Scorcher becomes faster and speeds through the hoops, creating fires over the hoops. For the pillars, he had created flaming spirals over them. The Wonderbolts, who were hidden in the clouds, had their jaws dropped by this storm of flames. Right now, Scorcher was trailing flames behind him. Preparing his next move, he decided to do something devious. "Is that what I think he's doing?" Fleetfoot asked. "Yup." Silver Lining muttered. Scorcher flew upwards and looked down. He smiled and raised himself up to the sky. "They couldn't think of something to say the day you burst With all their lions and all their might and all their thirst They crowd your bedroom like some thoughts wearing thin Against the walls against your rules against your skin My beard grew down to the floor and out through the doors Of your eyes but go in disguise like a sleepyhead, sleepyhead" After the double bass, he flew down to the ground with full velocity. The Wonderbolts got out of the clouds and looked down to see what he was going to do. Twisting and turning, Scorcher became a falling meteorite that was about to land very hard. They finally realize what this move was. The Nova Meteor. Great speed and fury rising, Scorcher saw that he was close to the ground. Luckily, he managed to control himself and flew back up to the field. Landing gracefully, the music had faded out. (End Song) He opened his eyes and suddenly lost his confidence. He saw The Wonderbolts, who were in awe at what they saw. "Uh...that was the Nova Meteor, I guess." Scorcher said, giving a nervous smile. They couldn't say anything. Spitfire walked up to him and said these words: "Welcome to the team." The Wonderbolts broke out of their frozen state to congratulate the now frozen Star Scorcher. He started to smile. Best day ever, he thought to himself. It was better than the time he became the Beer Pong World Champion.